The Malik Report

The Grand Rapids Griffins wrapped up the pre-Christmas break portion of their schedule on a losing note, losing 3-2 to the Chicago Wolves--and they did so in frustrating fashion, rallying from a 2-0 deficit only to surrender the game-winning goal with 2:09 left in regulation.

General manager Ken Holland said Weiss has opted to undergo surgery for a sports hernia. The date for the procedure hasn't been set, but Holland said Weiss should return just after the Olympic break (Feb. 9-25).

The Red Wings-Maple Leafs game-day update post continues to roll on ahead of tonight's game (7 PM EST start, FSD/CBC/NHL Network with the usual Center Ice and GameCenter Live blackouts/97.1 FM) between Detroit and Toronto, but the following article from the National Post's Eric Koreen spoke with Red Wings coach and Team Canada Olympic coach Mike Babcock about his supposedly split allegiances, and Babcock made one point abundantly clear:

“I understand who pays me,” Babcock said on Saturday morning. “I don’t have any problem figuring that out at all.”

That would be the Detroit Red Wings, who employ Babcock as their head coach. The Red Wings play in Toronto against the Maple Leafs on Saturday night, which meant that the coach was subjected to a lot of queries about Sochi. The Canadian management staff, led by Steve Yzerman, is poised to announce the roster on Jan. 7.

Babcock said he allows himself to think about the Canadian team on his drive to and from the Joe Louis Arena. Also, in preparing for the Red Wings’ opposition, he has to game plan for the best players in the game — some of those players are candidates for the Canadian team, while others will represent Canada’s competition.

While I'm dashing through the sleet to attend my family's Christmas party this evening, the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will tangle in something of a Winter Classic preview (7 PM, FSD/CBC/NHL Network U.S. with the usual Center Ice/GCL blackout/97.1 FM), all ahead of tonight's episode of HBO's 24/7 series at 10 PM (EST; again, the alternate showings are strangely scheduled)...

And I hate to say this, but I feel like the people preparing to watch or broadcast this game are either looking too eagerly toward their close-up or are have forgotten that there's going to be an actual, unscripted hockey game taking place on the ice at the Air Canada Centre tonight, because much of the lead-up to tonight's game has been...

A week from Monday, the Grand Rapids Griffins will tangle with the Toronto Marlies at Comerica Park, and the Griffins may be the "winningest" team to take to the outdoor ice given their record thus far.

Updated 2x at 5:08 PM, and I've been updating the practice post all day long--Petr Mrazek and Tom McCollum's Winter Classic/outdoor game masks lurk within: I tried to keep the Red Wings-Maple Leafs pre-Saturday-game hype to a minimum today, but I'm going to dip my toe into the pond of fluffernutter here with the CBC's Jim Hughson surprisingly ripping into the Red Wings for being "too old," "too slow," etc. etc. (via RedWingsFeed; the Wings appear to not have any players who are under 35 if we are to believe Hughson) because they haven't run ramp-shod over the Eastern Conference (Red Wings fans have learned that it's the Wings who the East was prepared for, because everyone knows how Detroit plays hockey, and instead, the East's passive-aggressive play has flummoxed a team beset by injuries)...

And the Canadian Press's Stephen Whyno duly notes that tomorrow's Hockey Night in Canada-televised game (Jonas Gustavsson will start for Detroit, Danny DeKeyser will return from his shoulder issue and Darren Helm may or may not return from his shoulder issue) will at least serve as a "getting to know you" game for a pair of teams that haven't played a regular-season game against each other in almost two years:

Updated 3x at 5:13 PM: As noted earlier today, Detroit's City Council was to meet to discuss the expansion of the Downtown Development Authority's footprint and what the Detroit News's Louis Aguilar accurately described as a significant "land swap," but anybody expecting more than the commensurate amount of public dissent and a "this is a part of the process" set of agreements would have to be disappointed to find that some parts of the City's agreement with the DDA and Ilitch Holdings were approved...

About The Malik Report

The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.